


TTTE Drabbles

by bitemyshinyredtender



Category: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Diesel 10 is The Worst, Edward is a very patient boyfriend, Gordon can be smooth when he wants to be, Gordon has a itsy bitsy teeny weeny panic attack, Gordon is a Sad Lad, Henry is just an angel honestly, Hurt/Comfort, James is a salty little shit, Past Abuse, Pillow Talk, Valentine's Day, oof
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 04:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15811032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitemyshinyredtender/pseuds/bitemyshinyredtender
Summary: I've caved in. I'm making a drabble collection.Am I a real fanfic author yet, mom?!?!Some chapters have relocated to my smut collection, so now I can keep my innocent fluff separate from the Naughty Things for those of you who prefer to keep things PG. Plus now the smut is all in one place, so. Y'know. It's easier for us horndogs to find it now.





	1. Valentine's Day (James/Edward)

“If I see one more heart, I’m going to hurt someone.”

“Oh come on James, lighten up a little.”

“I will not,” James snorted, glaring at the overwhelmingly pink and red store aisle. “Valentine's day is capitalized by big companies to sell overpriced candy and shit and the holiday serves no purpose other than to make lovers feel obligated to buy expensive useless shit, because if they don’t they’ll feel bad.”

Edward quirked an eyebrow, “Somebody didn’t get many valentines as a kid…”

“Roses are red, violets are blue… go to hell, fuck you,” James grumbled.

Edward snickered, “All right, then we won’t celebrate. No big deal.”

“No, I… wouldn’t mind celebrating. I just don’t like feeling pressured to spend outrageous amounts of money. It’s like, if someone only spend a small amount of money, they’re labelled a cheapskate and people assume they don’t really care about their partner.”

Edward smiled. He never thought James would get so worked up over something like this. “No one is thinking that,” Edward said softly, “nobody cares _that_ much about how much someone spends on candy.” Edward grabbed a nearby heart shaped box filled with chocolates and examined it, “I do agree with you when you say this stuff is overpriced…”


	2. The Return of Diesel 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I recently had to make some major edits to "The Tenth Yard" and this is part of a huge chunk of text I took out from the story. I didn't like the direction the plot was going. But this piece had a lot of time and effort put into it and I'd hate to see it go to waste, plus I'm sure _somebody_ might enjoy reading it. So here, fetch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for controlling behavior and mentions of past abuse

“If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”

Diesel 10 just smirked, his arm casually dangling from the car window. “Oh come now, Henry...”

Henry crossed his arms defiantly, “Don’t ‘come now Henry’ me. You and I both know that face-to-face interaction is a blatant violation of the agreement-”

Diesel 10 laughed, “I know it’s a little gutsy of me, I apologize. I just didn’t expect to see you here. I just got a little excited, I knew I had to talk to you. Who knows when I’d see you again?”

Something in Diesel 10’s demeanor was… different to Henry. He seemed more genuine. Henry hadn’t heard Diesel 10 sound so carefree in ages.

Diesel 10 continued, “What do you say we go for a little drive? Won’t be long, I don’t have much gas left anway. There’s so much I’ve wanted to tell you in person”

“...”

“...Well?”

Henry reluctantly crossed over to the passenger side door, “Prove to me you’ve changed or never speak to me again.”

-

“I’m a fucked up man, Henry.” Diesel 10’s tone was very matter-of-fact. “I was horrible to you. I was horrible to so many people. It’s so hard to change, I’ve really tried. Growing up, I didn’t exactly have the best role models, what with parents who fought every day and ‘friends’ who didn’t really give a fuck about me. I just thought that’s how things were supposed to be.” Diesel 10 turned to face Henry, glancing back at the road every few seconds. “You showed me what real kindness is, and what it means to love someone unconditionally. What we had was the truest love I had ever-”

“Diesel 10, let’s get something straight here,” Henry butted in. “That wasn’t love. You don’t hurt the people you love.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t love? You told me you loved me many times-”

“I thought I did love you, but I didn’t even know what love was supposed to be. Not in a non-familial way, at least. You were very good at making me believe I meant something to you, when you weren’t beating me or shouting at me…”

Diesel 10’s smile quickly slipped away, “Maybe I wasn’t the best at showing it, but I loved you more than words could describe. And… I still do.”

Henry felt all the blood drain from his face.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you. I regret everything I did to hurt you, I really didn’t know any better. I still don’t. But I want to learn. I want you to help me. I _need_ you to help me, Henry.”

Henry could barely hear Diesel 10’s words, too busy trying to force down the panic rising in his mind.

Diesel 10 continued, “I know you don’t feel the same way, but I love you more than I can possibly say.”

“...I wish you hadn’t told me that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Henry turned and glared at Diesel 10, “It means that I’ve finally gotten myself to the point where I don’t think about you more than once a week, if that. It means I don’t care how you feel about me, you used me and lied to me and did everything in your power to hurt me, while convincing me it was love. Nothing you say can possibly change that, so don’t bother trying to mess with my mind by telling me this stuff. I don’t care if you mean it or not. Just don’t say it.”

Diesel 10 held the steering wheel in a death grip, a detail which Henry immediately noticed. “Henry,” Diesel 10 spoke as if his voice was coated in honey to hide the venomous tone that lie beneath, “I know you loved me too. And I think deep down, you still do. I know it’s uncomfortable to think about, especially with Gordon in the picture,” Diesel 10 spat.

“I loved you. Past tense.”

“Maybe when you can look me in the face when you say that, I’ll actually believe you.”

Henry continued to keep his eyes forward, watching the trees zip past. “I don’t know where you’re going with this, but I’m putting a stop to it now. I only got in this car to let you know in person that what we have needs to stop. I wish I had just ignored your first letter. I wish I never replied. The only reason I responded in the first place was because of my own stupid need to believe in the best in people. I wanted to believe that you had changed. I wanted the closure of knowing you had moved on like I had.

“Now I’ve been hiding this from Gordon for almost two months. I wouldn’t expect you to understand how horrible it feels to look into the eyes of someone you love and lie to them almost every single day. It’s killing me. I can’t believe I’m doing this to Gordon, for you of all people. You don’t deserve it. I can’t even understand why I’ve continued talking with you. It doesn’t make any sense…” Henry trailed off.

Diesel 10 spoke softly, “Love makes people do strange things.”

Henry pursed his lips, eyes locked on the horizon. His heart sank when he realized the sun was starting to go down. “It’s getting late, we should head back.”

Diesel 10 continued to talk as if he hadn’t heard Henry, “It’s true that these feelings never really go away, but I think what we have between us is more than just sparks of an old fling. I know I still love you, and I’ve got a feeling in my gut that tells me that you still love me.”

“The only thing you’ll be feeling in your gut is my foot if you don’t take me home, _now_.”

Diesel 10 laughed as if Henry had told a knock knock joke instead of threatening him, “You’re still just as spirited as ever. I really love that about you-”

“Diesel 10, for the love of all things good in this world if you don’t take me home right now I’m going to make sure that you go back to prison _and stay there for good!_ ”

A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Henry heard the distinct ‘click’ of all the doors locking. A firm tug on the handle confirmed this.

Henry wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. However, the only sound he managed to make was a gasp as Diesel 10 jerked the wheel and suddenly made a U-turn.

Without another word, Diesel 10 drove Henry home. He dropped him off a couple of blocks away, just in case. Henry quickly scrambled out of the car, refusing to acknowledge Diesel 10 as he slammed the door and hurried away. He didn’t look back as the car sped off.


	3. Always (Gordon/Henry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is old as hell, someone sent me the prompt "I'm with you, always" and this was born. Enjoy this dinosaur of a fic.

Gordon had never had a panic attack. He didn’t even know what a panic attack felt like. But based on what he heard from Henry about his own panic attacks, he figured that’s what had to be happening right now. His heartbeat spread throughout his whole body, he could feel it strong and fast in his fingertips. Dizziness caused him to clutch his head in an attempt to steady himself. His thoughts were racing, his head was pounding. He didn’t even know what was causing him to react like this. He knew he was stressed about Flying Scotsman’s visit but geez, he wasn’t that stressed about it.

Was he?

Gordon sat down at the edge of the bed, trying to calm down, but also trying to find the source of his stress. He figured he could nip it in the bud before it grew into an even bigger problem.

He thought back to why his brother was coming to visit in the first place; Flying Scotsman had called out of the blue because he realized that he hadn’t seen his little brother in over a year, and he didn’t want to wait until the wedding to see them. This would make sense to Gordon if he and Scot had been closer as children. Their fighting had reached the point where Gordon was more than happy with not seeing his brother more than once a year now that they were adults. But Henry had urged him to let his brother come, thinking that Scot might want to try and make amends with Gordon for their sibling rivalry. His brother is getting married, Henry had said, and he probably feels guilty that he’s missed out on so much of your life up until now. Gordon hadn’t thought of it that way, he even felt a little touched at the concept.

However, Gordon wasn’t satisfied with that answer. He buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. There has to be something else to this. Scot had never been more than civil toward him, even as children. This was the most brotherly he had acted toward Gordon in their life. Why? Why did Scot have a sudden interest in Gordon’s life?

Jealousy sparked in Gordon’s mind for a split second, and he thought that maybe Henry was the reason he was visiting, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Scot may be a terrible brother, but he wasn’t a terrible person. Gordon struggled to try and come up with a more logical explanation for his brother’s call. Maybe he realized he wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding and wanted to tell he and Henry in person? Maybe he had other news to deliver to Gordon that needed to be delivered in person? Was someone in the family sick?

Gordon’s thoughts continued reeling, but they always came back to the fact that he and Scot were not exactly on the best of terms, so he couldn’t have a good reason. This visit was going to bring about something that could, and this is the worst case scenario, shake Gordon’s world to the core.

Gordon felt his gut tighten with dread.

A hand on his shoulder caused Gordon to jerk his head up in surprise. There sat Henry, trying to comfort him. With his other hand, Henry gently caressed Gordon’s cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. He smiled gently, in that way that never failed to make Gordon’s heart melt.

“Hey, I’m with you, okay?” Henry said, “Always.”


	4. With All Of My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas hurt/comfort fic of Henry and Gordon that was requested on Tumblr.
> 
> The holidays bring with them memories that Gordon has tried every year without fail to forget. Maybe this year will be different.

_“You’re never going to leave me, right?”_

_Scot looked away from the falling snow and stared at him, “Why would you ask that?”_

_Shivering from the cold winter air, Gordon looked away sheepishly. “I just… I don’t want you to leave like everybody else did.”_

_Even at the young age of eight, Gordon knew that his and Scot’s family had been in an unusual situation. He’d often asked Scot to tell him the whole story, where their parents were, what happened to their siblings, why it was just the two of them alone._

_Scot didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. Not yet._

_“I’m not going to leave you, Gordon.” Scot leaned against the porch railing and pulled Gordon close to him, “We’ve got to stick together, you know?”_

_“Promise?”_

_“With all my heart.”_

-

An older, wiser Gordon stood staring out the window, watching the snow slowly accumulate on the grass. He focused on the falling flakes, willing his mind to stop going back to the painful memories that always haunted him this time of year. He turned away from the window, his eyes taking in his surroundings. Henry’s living room was covered in an array of Christmas-y decorations, with twinkling lights and candles flooding the room in soft light. A large tree stood in the corner, decorated with glittering ornaments. A string of silver and holly garland hung from the mantle. Gordon chuckled, Henry always did have a flare for decorating for holidays.

His smile fell; it had been years since Gordon had even thought about decorating his own home.

With a deep sigh, Gordon sunk down onto the couch beside him. Every year, without fail, Gordon was unsuccessful in enjoying the winter holidays, Christmas specifically. Too many memories plagued him… memories of Scot. Gordon scoffed. Sometimes he felt guilty that he thought about he brother as if he were dead, but most of the time Gordon couldn’t care less. They had gone their separate ways.

“Okay,” Henry’s voice startled Gordon out of his thoughts, “the pie is almost done, it just needs a couple minutes to cool…” Henry trailed off when he saw Gordon. He sat down on the couch and placed his hand comfortingly on Gordon’s arm. “Hey… is everything okay?”

For a moment, Gordon said nothing. He kept his head down, attempting to hide his teary eyes. “I’m fine, really. It’s just…-”

“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. I just want to make sure you’re all right.”

Gordon laughed weakly, “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

Henry stayed silent for a moment, before taking one of Gordon’s hands in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I don’t think you are.”

Gordon gave Henry’s hands a firm squeeze in return. “I’m sorry…” he said quietly, “I know the holidays are important to you, and the last thing I want to do is ruin them with all of my emotional baggage.

“You’re not going to ruin anything,” Henry lovingly cupped Gordon’s cheek. “I want you to be happy, I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Now, why don’t you start by telling me what’s the matter?”

Gordon’s heart swelled. Henry’s kindness never ceased to remind Gordon just how in love with him he was. He took a deep breath, “This time of year always reminds me of my childhood, and… and my brother. I don’t realize how much I miss him until the holidays come around, then suddenly I’m remembering all those years of decorating trees, and playing in the snow, and it hurts to realize how many more years of that I missed out on because I chose to walk away from what we had.”

“But,” Henry interjected, “you couldn’t have grown up in his shadow, you’ve said it yourself.”

“I know,” Gordon huffed, “but I still wonder if everything would have turned out okay if I had stayed.”

Henry turned so he faced Gordon, sitting with his legs crossed. He leaned in so they were inches apart. “Listen to me,” he said softly, “you shouldn’t worry about what could have been, because worrying about it won’t change anything. What’s done is done. You left your brother because he was starting to behave in a very toxic way toward you, and his fame wasn’t helping anything either. You did what you felt was best for you. The chances of things changing for the better if you stayed are so slim, it wasn’t worth risking.

“I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself when you were so young. You had the courage to leave the only person that you’ve known since you were little, and I think things turned out okay for you, wouldn’t you agree?”

Gordon nodded weakly.

Henry smiled, wiping a lone tear that slid down Gordon’s cheek. “I know it must be hard for you, especially at this time of year, but you’ve got to focus on how your life has gotten better since you’ve left your brother. At least you two aren’t total strangers, you write to each other on your birthdays, right?”

Gordon nodded again.

“See? You didn’t completely cut your brother out of your life, you just… pushed him to a safe distance.” Henry pushed Gordon’s hair away from his face, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. “You’re going to be okay.”

Gordon looked up at Henry, “Promise?”

“With all of my heart.”


	5. Gordon/Henry Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some cute pillowtalk bewteen Gordon and Henry (mostly Gordon).

“Your eyes are so pretty…”

Flustered, Henry giggled, “Oh, stop that.”

Gordon grinned, propping himself up onto his elbows. He loved getting this kind of reaction out of Henry. “It’s true,” he continued, “I’ve never seen eyes as pretty as yours. They look so sweet, like a little doe.”

Henry rolled over so his back was to Gordon and buried his face in his pillow, giggling some more. As much as he loved hearing Gordon give him compliments, he was never any good at accepting them.

Gordon tugged the covers up over their shoulders and pulled Henry in so his back was against Gordon’s chest, snuggling even closer. “I used to think that brown eyes were boring, but yours- yours are incredible…” Gordon nuzzled his face against Henry’s neck, taking in the faint scent of coffee and vanilla. “And you always smell so nice, too. I wish I could hold you like this forever and ever.”


	6. Felix Learns A New Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix... expands his vocabulary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A gift to Roger and Jackie, hopefully this makes things a little better <3

“My child would never do that. Yours, however…”

“Why, I _never_ ,” James gasped, clutching his chest in mock offense. “To even imply such a thing, the nerve! The absolute nerve!”

Edward smirked smugly, saying nothing.

James continued, “I don’t like what you’re implying.”

“Honestly James,” Edward sighed, “do you really expect me to believe he _didn’t_ learn that from you?”

“Yes.”

Edward rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot,” he droned. “And you’re certainly an idiot if you think he learned that from me.”

James crossed his arms defensively, eyeing Edward suspiciously. “Oh, really? And who is the one who stays home with him all day? Who is the one who insists he teach our son and encourage him to get ahead of the learning curve?”

Edward sighed. “Yes, I did say-”

“And _who_ is the one who, just yesterday, said it was time to start teaching him how to talk?”

“James, do you really think I’d teach him how to say-?”

A small voice from below chimed in. “Fuck!”

“ _Felix, no!_ ” James and Edward shouted in simultaneous panic.


	7. Henry's Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry made a mistake, though he's not quite sure what it was he did exactly... Finding out doesn't make him feel any better, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This totally isn't canon to any of my AUs, I just couldn't get the idea out of my head.

“Oh god,” Henry mumbled as he sat up, clutching his head to try to ward off the raging headache. In an instant, the events of last night flooded his mind. Or, at least, a portion of them. The last thing he remembered was taking another shot of _something_ , maybe whiskey? Whatever it was, it was stronger than he had anticipated.

“Oh boy,” Henry said under his breath, realizing just how hungover he was. His body ached, his head pounded, and his eyes were struggling to focus. He tried to assess his surroundings, but the bright light coming in through the window across the room wasn’t aiding his vision much. From what he could see, he was in someone’s bedroom. Presumably, the bedroom of either the host of last night’s party, or one of his roommate’s bedrooms. Henry felt a wave of gratitude that someone had let him spend the night; even in his hammered state he knew better than to drive, and he never did trust Uber drivers after some of the stories he’d seen on the news.

“Oh no…” Henry groaned when he realized he wasn’t alone. Someone was stirring next to him. His heart plummeted. Henry begged whatever deity was out there that what he was beginning to think happened, didn’t actually happen. He cautiously shifted, his limbs aching as he did so, and to his horror he felt a familiar soreness in one of the most vulnerable parts of his body.

“Oh, _fuck_ ,” Henry gasped in realization. He tried his hardest to remember the events of the previous night, but his mind was still blank. Frustrated tears pricked the corner of his eyes, and he leapt out of bed, much to the protest of his sore body. Sure enough, he was nude, and another wave of horror washed over him.

After finding his clothes, which had been tossed around the room haphazardly, further confirming his suspicions, Henry scrambled to get dressed. A dull ache still lingered in his head, as well as throughout his body. One place in particular ached as well, a painful reminder of what happened, though he somehow had no memory of anything of the sort.

He had enough proof of it, though.

Getting up and heading towards the door, he stole a quick glance back to the bed, curious as to who he had made such a mistake with.

Christopher Taylor, the host of the party, was still fast asleep.

Henry sighed in relief. At least he hadn’t slept with a complete stranger. Not that that excused what he had done.

Quickly turning to leave, Henry realized he still needed to find his keys. He remembered where he put them when he first arrived at the party, there was a designated bowl for people to leave their keys in by the front door. Henry groaned when he didn’t see any sign of a bowl of keys. The apartment was still a mess from the party, so nobody had moved it in the process of cleaning, so it’s whereabouts was a mystery. Just as Henry had resigned himself to searching amongst the trash littered across every surface of the room, a voice startled him.

“Leaving?”

Turning around with a flinch, Henry wasn’t sure whether he was relieved to see Christopher or not. “Yeah,” Henry said, wincing at how hoarse his voice was. “I’ve got to get back before noon or else my roommate will get worried. I just can’t find my keys…”

“Did you try the key bowl?”

“There is no key bowl.”

Christopher cocked his head. “Huh?”

Gesturing over to the spot where the key bowl should have been, Henry gave Christopher a look that he hoped communicated just how much he did not have time for this.

Christopher walked over to the front door, looking around quizzically. “What the fuck, I know I put it here!”

Henry could feel panic rising in his throat. “I really need to leave-”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll just…” Christopher opened a cabinet under the sink, pulling out a large trash bag. “Maybe once we clean up a bit we’ll find it.”

Henry sighed. “I guess so.” Kneeling down, Henry began collecting discarded Solo cups and various other trash he saw, shuffling over to Christopher and tossing them in the bag.

Christopher’s lips twitched into a smirk. “This is a nice callback to last night,” he teased, though his tone was friendly.

“What is?”

Christopher’s eyes sparkled playfully. “You on your knees in front of me.”

Instantly, Henry felt his face flush. He quickly turned away, scooping up more trash into his arms.

Seeing Henry’s discomfort, Christopher’s smile fell. “Sorry, I just thought…” he trailed off. When Henry didn’t say anything, he continued. “Henry, last night-”

“-Was a mistake,” Henry cut him off curtly. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

Christopher’s shifted awkwardly, thinking. “Maybe, but it was still-”

“A _mistake_ , Christopher. That’s all it was.” Henry stood up, dumping an armful of garbage into the bag, avoiding eye contact with Christopher. He turned back and picked up some more Solo cups off the TV stand, walking towards the kitchen to dump the remaining liquid into the sink.

Christopher followed. “Nothing is a mistake, Henry.”

Henry rolled his eyes, “How very Corita Kent of you.”

“I was thinking more Mona Scott Young,” Christopher said with a chuckle.

“I’m serious,” Henry snapped. “Whatever happened last night, it was nothing more than a terrible decision courtesy of drunk me.”

“No, _I’m_ serious,” Christopher said sternly, setting down the trash bag and turning Henry to face him. “Last night happened for a reason, now let’s figure out what that reason was.”

Henry was beginning to grow agitated. “The only reason last night happened was because of alcohol. There, all figured out.” Shrugging Christopher’s hand off of his shoulder, Henry turned and went back into the living room, searching for any sign of his keys. “It meant nothing, okay?”

“It meant something to me,” Christopher said sadly.

“Oh, _god_...” Henry groaned. He didn’t care about appearing rude at this point, he needed to get out of there. “You’re not serious.”

Picking up the trash bag, Christopher trailed after Henry. “I know it sounds super weird and I know this isn’t exactly the conventional way to do things but-”

“Don’t.”

“-I really like you. I mean, I always thought you were kinda cute, but last night- the party, not the… it was super awesome, and it made me realize how fun it is the hang out with you. You’re pretty cool. And you looked absolutely amazing last night. Green really suits you.”

Henry would be flattered, were it not for the circumstances.

Christopher continued, “I’m sorry this is how things have played out between us, really. I didn’t want this to be how we, you know…”

Henry’s eyebrow quirked challengingly.

“Got together.”

Without a word, Henry turned and resumed his search for his keys.

Christopher walked up to Henry, standing close behind him. “Tell me you don’t regret last night. Tell me, even in your fucked up drunken state, there was a part of you that knew what was happening and wanted it to happen. Tell me it meant _something_ to you.”

Whipping around, Henry’s eyes bore into Christopher’s. “The _mistake_ that happened last night _can’t_ mean anything because _I’m already seeing someone else._ ”

Silence. “Oh,” Christopher said quietly.

“Yeah, ‘oh’ indeed,” Henry said sarcastically, the reality of the situation starting to set in. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, and he fought them back, determined to find his keys and leave as quickly as he could. He wouldn’t be able to see if he let himself cry now.

Christopher took a few steps back. “I didn’t know,” he said, setting down the trash bag and sitting on the couch, beer cans clinking as he shoved them out of the way. “I swear, I had no idea you weren’t single. I never would have-”

“I know,” Henry said reassuringly. “I’ve known you long enough to know you’re not that kind of guy.”

Awkward silence followed, neither knowing what to say.

Christopher cleared his throat. “So how long have you been seeing…?”

“Gordon,” Henry said, “and we’ve only been going out for a few weeks now, but I can tell he’s different. He treats me better than the other guys I’ve dated. I feel really safe and comfortable around him.”

Christopher smiled. “Sounds like a great guy.”

“The greatest. He’s so smart, and confident, he’s got hair like you wouldn’t even believe…” Henry swallowed the lump in his throat. “He’s been great, and I just stabbed him in the back. He doesn’t deserve me, he doesn’t deserve any of this.” The lump in his throat returned, followed by tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Henry,” Christopher said softly.

Henry shook his head, a forced laugh escaping his throat. “I don’t deserve _him_.”

Christopher watched sadly as Henry slowly sank onto the couch beside him. “Hey,” he said, placing a comforting hand on Henry’s arm, “it’ll be okay. Like you said, this was just a mistake. He doesn’t even have to know-”

Henry looked up at Christopher sadly. “Of course he has to know,” Henry said, “what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I hid this from him?”

Christopher bit his lip, looking down in thought.

Henry continued. “I have to tell him. But I know once I tell him it’ll destroy our relationship, and he’ll hate me forever.” Henry’s voice cracked as more tears ran down his face. “I just can’t believe I screwed everything up so quickly.”

“You really like him, don’t you?”

Henry nodded.

“Well, it sounds like he really likes you too, from what you’ve told me,” Christopher said, leaning against the back of the couch. “If he really cares about you, he’ll want to work through this. He’ll realize it’s not the end of the world and that you two can move past this if you really like each other that much. If he really wants to be with you, he’ll understand.”

Henry shook his head. “He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t stay in a relationship with someone who cheats. I wouldn’t.”

They both sat in silence for a few moments before an unfamiliar voice chimed in.

“Making mistakes is what makes us human. How we deal with those mistakes is what makes us people.”

Looking around, Henry spotted the source of the voice. A boy with messy blonde hair lay sprawled out behind an armchair across the room. From the looks of it, Henry guessed he had regained consciousness sometime in the middle of their conversation. “Oh, hello…?”

The boy nodded in acknowledgement. “Jack.”

“How did you-?”

“I heard enough. You sounded pretty distressed about this whole scenario, so I figured I would bestow some of my wisdom upon you.”

Henry smiled. “Thank you.”

Jack nodded again. “Whatever happens, whether you tell him or keep it a secret, you will change as a person from this situation. Trust me.”

Christopher snickered. “Not sure we’re gonna trust someone who has the word “penis” written on his forehead.”

Slapping a hand to his forehead, Jack’s eyes widened when he saw the smudged ink on his fingers. “Aw nuts,” he hissed, pushing himself up onto his feet and rushing off to the bathroom.

Christopher continued, sitting up to look Henry in the eyes. “Listen, what I’m trying to say is that-” He stopped, brow knitting in confusion. Reaching behind him and feeling around between the couch cushions, he pulled out a set of keys, holding them out triumphantly. “I thought something felt weird.”

Henry beamed. “Oh my god, thank you!” He snatched the keys and shot up off the couch to the front door. He paused as he turned the handle, looking back at Christopher. “Thank you,” he said again, “for everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If enough people want me to continue, I will. I have an idea of what would happen next, I just didn't want this to be too long.


	8. James Buys The Wrong Color Hair Dye and Other Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a little mishap with the hair dye, James isn’t sure he looks so splendid anymore...

This wasn't the first time James’ screams echoed through the house, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Edward jumped up from his chair and ran upstairs towards the bathroom, the source of the screams. “James, are you alright?”

“No!” came the distraught reply.

Edward tried to open the door, but it was locked. “James, what’s going on in there?!” Edward knew James was supposed to be dying his hair, as he did every Sunday afternoon, so what had gone wrong this time? The sound of objects clattering told Edward that James was at least alive. “Please answer me, I’m getting worried!”

James’ shaky sigh could be heard through the door. “I’m fine, Edward. Just… go away.”

“I will not,” Edward said defiantly, standing his ground and crossing his arms. “Your screaming has me very worried. Please, just open the door and tell me what’s wrong. Did the bleach burn you again? You know you’re supposed to set the timer for-” Edward stopped when he heard the door knob start to turn. Taking a step back, he watched as the door slowly opened to reveal a very distraught James, with _very_ pink hair. Edward couldn’t help but laugh. A glare from James shut him up quickly.

“This isn’t funny! It wasn’t supposed to be pink!” James turned around to stare at his hair in the mirror, running a hand through it and pouting. “I thought it looked a little funny after I finished rinsing the dye out, but I thought after I dried it maybe it would be fine…” James sighed, “I guess I was wrong.”

Edward smiled, wrapping his arms around James from behind. He knew how important James’ hair was to him, he had been dying it red for years now and adored the color. Edward had to admit, he had grown fond of the color as well. “Maybe it’s not red, but it’s certainly not a bad color on you.”

“But it’s _pink_ ,” James whined.

Edward cocked his head. “And what’s wrong with pink?”

“It’s not red.”

Leaning in and pressing a kiss to James’ cheek, Edward chuckled. “Yes, I’ve noticed. I think you still look splendid, even if it isn’t red. Your hair could be every color of the rainbow and you’d look amazing.”

James’ lips twitched into a smile. “Thanks, I needed that.”

Edward smiled. “Anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by true events. Yours truly bought the wrong color hair dye so instead of bright splendid red, I got flaming hot pink. I’m not happy. I need Edward to tell me I still look splendid.


End file.
